


For You I'd Wait (Til Kingdom Come)

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Pining, harry loves books, liam is mentioned like once, louis is a soldier, slight side ziall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 04:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1291804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was no logical reason for why he was feeling so nervous to head over to Louis' flat. Zayn had tried to convince him that it was because he was completely and totally infatuated with him and wanted to marry him and have his adoptive children. Harry blamed it on not having met someone new in a while.  </p><p> </p><p>Harry is obsessed with Mango Nectar and quoting his favorite books. Louis is far less clumsy and will be leaving for military duties at the end of the summer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For You I'd Wait (Til Kingdom Come)

**Author's Note:**

> I ran out of mango juice. This happened.

It started with the last can of mango juice hidden in the far back of the fridge just barely making it into the garbage can after being tossed from the other side of the room. Harry groaned from his spot on the couch and squirmed beneath Zayn's legs that rested lazily in his lap and he extended an arm to swat towards the fridge in the corner of the small apartment. 

"I want more," he whined, his voice slightly raspier than normal from the strain he had put on it while attending a concert the night before. The hangover that he had acquired from drinking the stash of beer that a few of his mates had managed to scrounge up was still around, though it was much duller at this point compared to when he first woke up. 

"You're a bloody idiot. There is no juice left, and you know it. Through out the entirety of your last can you whined over running out," Zayn huffed as his legs were tossed onto the floor lazily and Harry sluggishly made his way over to the kitchen to trifle around. His legs were carelessly tossed back up onto the couch and he lit up a cigarette to practice blowing smoke rings at the ceiling. 

"“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Also, I don't know how many times I'm going to have to go over this but it's not juice. It's mango nectar," Harry drawled, rolling his eyes when he looked back over his shoulder and saw the smoke. "Put that out you ass. Something is going to catch on fire one of these days, then we'll get evicted. And even if that doesn't happen the smell is nauseating," he complained with his eyes scanning the shelves for another can. 

"Juice, nectar, it's all the same," Zayn stifled his laughter and reached behind his head to flick the ashes onto a tray. Making no attempt to stub it out, he purposely blew a set of rings in Harry's direction before taking another drag. "The only nauseating thing here is your incessant need to quote every fucking book you've read. I'm studying to be an English teacher and I'm not even that pretentious," 

""I am quite illiterate, but I read a lot."" Harry recited just to spite him, and ended up getting hit with a pillow in the back of his head. "Oi, admit it Malik, you adore my quick-wit," he laughed and took a step back to finally give up on finding another thin canister hiding somewhere behind nearly spoiled milk and leftover mac and cheese. 

"Unlike the ridiculous amount of people you're able to entrance with that bullshit, I on the other hand find it quite ostentatious and showy," Zayn snickered and attempted the French inhale that he had been working on perfecting until he grew bored and pushed all the air from his lungs so quickly that he was left breathless and coughing. 

Harry let out a dramatic gasp as his hand came up from the handle of the refrigerator door to cover his heart. He clicked his tongue as he crossed the room, and playfully backhanded Zayn's snapback from his head only to receive a drawn out groan in return. Pulling back the curtains, he attempted to open the large window on the opposite wall that always tended to get stuck after the first few inches that it had been forced up. 

The fresh May air rushed in to fill the apartment and the smoke that had begun to hang slowly trickled out down into the city below. Harry glanced up to the broken smoke detector in the corner of the room and remembered how excited Zayn had been when they moved in to find out that it didn't work. Even though the chance of it being set off from a single cigarette was low in the first place. 

Wandering around the room, he let his fingers run along the spines of the dozens of shelves of novels that lined the walls. It had been years since the two began their collection. After meeting on a summer job in a discount book store, Zayn and Harry easily became friends and ended up going to the same university so a familiar face was never too far away. Now, they were in their senior year with a crummy apartment doing as well as they had expected. 

"I want more mango nectar," Harry pouted as he pulled To Kill a Mockingbird from the shelf and skimmed over the first page. Sighing unhappily, he quickly closed the cover and gently put it back in his place then turned to Zayn and stomped his foot angrily at the lack of his favorite drink. 

"I honestly have no idea what you want me to do about that, Harry. It's not like I lactate fucking mango 'nectar'. Unfortunately, you cannot pinch my nipple and get a tall glass of your favorite juice. You're going to have to walk down a few flights of stairs to the corner shop and buy some," Zayn chuckled and took a final drag, afterwards shoving it down into the ash tray until the tips of his fingers were burnt. 

"Are you sure about that?" Harry grinned wickedly, and bounded across the carpet in three long strides until he was positioned on top of the other boy and pinning him to the couch. "Lemme see, I want my drink," he cried out between bursts of laughter and struggled to poke at Zayn's nipples while his hands were deflected and shoved away. 

"Get off of me you bastard," Zayn cackled and finally managed to push Harry back so he rolled off of the sofa and landed with a thud on the floor. "Fucker," he coughed, feeling it especially hard to breathe from his smoke and his eyes fluttered closed as he twisted and turned to find a comfortable position on the couch for a quick nap. 

"Don't leave me," Harry moaned but just got a grumble and halfhearted backhand across his face as a response. With a sigh he scrambled to his feet and poked at Zayn's cheeks until he realized it was useless to try and keep him awake. Harry gave up and disappeared into his room to find a bandana to make his hair seem slightly more tamed, and was as quiet as possible while he slipped on his shoes and jumper. 

"Close the window on your way out. S'Cold," Zayn called groggily from the couch and Harry uselessly flipped him off while he stormed across the room in his boots. Slamming the window proved harder than he had foolishly expected, but he made sure to grunt as loudly as possible while it slid down painstakingly slowly. "Love you," Zayn slurred from the couch. 

Harry reached over the patched fabric to pat Zayn's cheek lovingly, and even went as far as to bend down across the back of the sofa and press an exceedingly wet and sloppy kiss to his cheek. A little sound of contentment escaped his lips and Harry smiled before he took off out of the flat, the door barely swinging shut behind him. 

\--- 

 

The small corner store half a block away from Harry's apartment was where he did the majority of the grocery shopping. Not everything was as high in quality as he had been used to back home, but the tight budget he was on from tuition and rent limited his choices. Immediately he cut through the aisles to get to the back to where the juice he was looking for was kept. 

Most of the workers there knew him by name at this point, it had been a few years since he had moved into the flat a couple of buildings away and he had ended up at the corner store during all points of the day from opening to closing. Whether it was a morning breakfast sandwich bought on the way to class, or a pint of ice cream purchased just before the doors were closed during a cramming session he relied on the corner store to supply him with all of the food that he needed. 

Now, he stood looking carefully over the wide array of drinks that he could choose from. It was obvious what he was going to get, but Harry always double checked for anything new that may stand out. It was how he had found his mango nectar in the first place; he was supposed to be on a tea run for Zayn but instead came home with a few of the tiny cans to test it out. From there, he was hooked. 

Grabbing an armful of nearly a dozen small cans of the nectar he staggered backwards and carefully tip toed to the front of the store, wary about dropping them everywhere. Even with his caution Harry ended up tripping over a box of tea that had fallen off of one of the higher shelves and he was sent tumbling to the ground. 

A loud bark of laughter came next, and he looked up to see a scruffy boy standing above him holding a case of beer in his hand. Harry's eyebrows knit together in embarrassment, and he quickly cast his eyes back down to see if any of the cans had broken or caused a mess. Without skipping a beat the stranger crouched down next to him and snatched a slightly dented container to glance at the labels. 

"Mango nectar," he read and flipped the can easily to read over the nutrition facts. Harry watched him in awe, and was unable to move and collect the rest of his belongings. "Is it any good? Wait- fuck that was a stupid question. You're holding so many cans of it that you tipped over. It's got to be pretty fucking great for you to risk that," the boy glanced up and their eyes met briefly before Harry's chest tightened and he ducked away to sort himself out. 

"Incredible," he agreed quickly, now on his knees and struggling to locate all of the cans that had by now rolled away quite far. "My best mate Zayn, he teases the shit out of me for being so, you know, into drinking it and all. I just bought a bunch earlier this week, and I'm pretty sure that I spend about a quarter of my paycheck on these alone, but you know. S'good," Harry rambled and counted the cans to make sure he hadn't lost any. 

The boy stared at him in amusement and shook his head. Setting his own six pack down, he scooted closer to where Harry was and stuck out an arm that darted right past his hip to grab a can that was hidden under one of the shelves behind him. He placed it in one of the small rows that had been made and offered a smile. 

"You're going to run yourself dry over some tiny cans of juice," he laughed and grabbed a few to lighten the load for Harry as he stood up. Quirking an eyebrow, he nodded towards the check out counter and snagged his bottles with his free hand. "I feel like I ought to try it. But I would rather not end up on one of those strange addiction shows for excessive mango drinking," 

Harry looked up in fascination at the stranger who was quickly disappearing and hugged the cans close to his chest as he jogged to catch up. They stood behind an older woman buying bread and eggs, and she fought for what seemed like ages over the cashier who refused to take her American currency. 

"It's nectar," he corrected quietly, and earned a surprised but seemingly pleased look from the other boy. He mouthed the word back and nodded, holding up the aluminum to read over the back once more. "Thank you for uh, the help by the way. And I think that you should try it. I've never heard of anyone who dislikes it, so you know, it's good?" Harry stuttered and bit his lip nervously. "You could like, try one of mine if you want. I was planning on going to get some chips after this at a place down the street so..." he left the end of the sentence open and shrugged. 

"I feel like turning you down would be something along the same severity as turning down something like tea with the queen," he snickered as the cashier droned out the total of the bill and before Harry could interject the stranger threw out a couple bills and took care of both of their items. 

"So... you're in?" Harry asked slowly and the other boy just chuckled as he grabbed the bags and headed in the direction of the door with them. "I'm Harry, uh, just so you know and stuff," he called as he bounded forward to catch up. 

"Incredible introduction, Harry. I'm Louis," he laughed and turned around to hand Harry a bag. He hid behind it slightly to cover the red tint of his cheeks and though it was his idea to go out he found himself following closely behind the boy he had just met past the small shop he had planned on going to. 

\--- 

The next thing that Harry knew he was sitting with Louis pressed up against the inside of a booth. His head was rested against the glass of the window to try and cool himself down, and he shoved up the sleeves of his sweater even though the room was colder than he was usually able to stand. 

"Uh, where are we exactly?" he asked looking around at the diner like setting. A few waitresses milled around taking orders and the smell of greasy food was slightly overwhelming. Harry figured that it was a good enough deal, because he had been looking for chips in the first place and the menu sitting in front of him displayed several different options for that. 

"I work here," Louis sniggered and adjusted his button up shirt so a few lines of a chest tattoo poked out by the collar. "It's a great place. Good food and all. Plus, we will eat for free. And nothing, listen closely Harry, absolutely nothing is better than eating for free," he sighed happily and rested his head against the back of the booth with his eyes closed. 

Harry took another look around the room and tried to picture Louis running around bussing tables or taking orders. It explained the button up shirt that everyone else who was working was also wearing, and he noticed a few grease stains on the material. Louis' eyes opened to catch him staring, and Harry's heart skipped a few beats. 

"Louis Tomlinson, we just got rid of you. What're you doing back here again?" Harry heard a loud Irish laugh and turned in surprise to see Niall headed towards them holding a pad of paper with an apron tied around his waist. "And with Harry Styles nonetheless. I didn't know you two were mates, I would've brought him along or something when I came round to yours to watch football with Zayn. Maybe with someone else there you would mind your own business and not pull some book quote out of your ass every time you catch us snogging," 

Harry's cheeks flushed again, and he tried to remember the last time he had gotten around to doing this much blushing. It made him feel much smaller and he buried his face in his hands. Niall had never been a quiet one, and now in the middle of this crowded restaurant it certainly wasn't any different 

"I didn't know you got another job," Harry looked up finally, emphasis on the last words because Niall had been hired and fired so many times that even Zayn had lost count. "And we're not... we just met," he explained on second thought, and shrugged while trying to seem focused on the menu even though he had known what he wanted for ages. 

"Not mates? Harry, I'm deeply offended. I bought you a week's supply, which would be most people's month supply by the way, of mango 'nectar'. I took you to the place I work for free food. I helped you after you fell instead of just laughing and walking away like the other people in the store. You're really breaking my heart," Louis faked a pout and Harry couldn't help but smile at him. 

"Sorry. Yeah, Niall, we're friends. The best of friends," Harry giggled, and Louis reached across the table to pat his hand in approval. 

Niall snorted and ran a hand through his hair as he watched the two of them. Harry shot him a dirty look and Louis scooted halfway out of the booth, with his hand still resting atop the other boy's, just to kick him in the shin. After a very quiet exchange of curse words so the manager standing in the corner wouldn't hear, Niall took their orders and disappeared into the kitchen. 

"So the best mate you were talking about, Zayn, he's Niall's Zayn?" Louis asked, now settled back into his booth with his hands sitting in his lap. Harry tried to ignore the warmth that he could still feel on his skin from the boy's finger tips, and instead he nodded with a loud bout of laughter. Louis let out a low whistle and bit his lip. "That's rough. I've been out with the two of them before, and no matter how many times you pretend to vomit into the trash they are still just as handsy as before," 

"You've tried that trick too?" Harry's grin widened and he crossed his hands so the tips of his fingers pressed down into the space that was now cool by the absence of another hand. "I think that they get off on making other people watch them. Absolutely sickening," 

Louis nodded in agreement and looked towards the kitchen where he could see Niall bopping around by the door to whatever song was playing on the radio. Harry watched the way his smile grew and tried to keep himself from staring for more than a few seconds. It didn't work however, and it was only harder to pull his eyes away when Louis started to crack up at the door smacking into a waitress who was attempting to bring in a tub of dirty dishes. 

"I think he's coming over Tuesday for a while. To watch the game and all," Harry noted quietly and Louis whipped back to look at him. The boy continued to chew on his lower lip and scrunched up his nose as if thinking over what he was about to say, and finally slid in so he was as close to Harry as he had been the entirety of the time that they were there. 

"Well if you'd like to watch the game, and not the two of them swallow each other's tongues, you could always come to mine," Louis offered slowly. Harry's eyes lit up and a crash from the kitchen was heard in the background but he kept his eyes locked on Louis'. "Also, if you need any more convincing, there will be mango juice," he blurted out as an afterthought. 

"A man after my own heart," Harry pretended to swoon and Louis swatted at him from across the table. "You like it though, right? It's good," he gestured to the two empty cans positioned between them. 

"Yeah it's pretty alright. But you, you're lame as hell, you know that?" Louis' eyes crinkled up as he smiled and Harry felt like the wind had been knocked from him momentarily. Luckily, he didn't have to speak as the food arrived just seconds after, but he found himself wanting to quote every line he had ever read about bright blue eyes and a smile that could light up the whole room. 

\--- 

Harry took a few deep breaths as he looked into the mirror and self consciously tugged at his hair to station it into place. The forest green head scarf he was wearing went well with his cream sweater and Zayn wolf whistled when he walked into the living room. Niall laughed into his shoulder as Harry flipped them off with both hands and raced to put on his boots. 

There was no logical reason for why he was feeling so nervous to head over to Louis' flat. Zayn had tried to convince him that it was because he was completely and totally infatuated with him and wanted to marry him and have his adoptive children. Harry blamed it on not having met someone new in a while. 

The weather wasn't as stable as he had hoped for, and halfway down the block towards the building where Louis' apartment was he was nearly half frozen to death. The wind cut through the wool material of his jumper easily, and he cursed himself for not having the brains to put on a jacket before he left. 

Harry only hoped that Louis' flat was warm enough to thaw him out within the first few minutes that he got there. Glancing down at his phone he double checked the address to make sure he was headed in the right direction. After nearly passing the building, and then tripping up the stairs, and then finding it only a few degrees warmer inside than it was outside he had worked himself into quite the mood. Harry huffed as he climbed the stairs and looked for the correct number on each of the doors. 

When he finally found the apartment he sighed in relief. Now that he had arrived however, he found himself to be shaking even harder and unable to actually raise his hand to knock. Bouncing on the heels of his feet, he gave himself a mental pep talk to just reach out and bang on the door a few times. It wasn't a big deal. There was no reason for him to be freaked out over entering the apartment of some guy he was going to watch a game with. 

Harry finally just stuck up his arm and knocked three times at the hard wood, then fell back a few steps. The door opened to reveal Louis in a jersey that clung tightly to his hips with his hair sticking out in different directions like he had just woken up. His eyes casually scanned over Harry and he smiled while pushing the door open further and beckoning for him to come inside. 

The room was a far different temperature and he let out a content sigh once the door was closed and he was immersed in warmth. Louis glanced back over his shoulder at him and Harry just shrugged lazily with a tiny smile though his body still shivered and shook. 

"You must be freezing," Louis stated with a smirk, and once again Harry raised his shoulders before allowing them to drop a few seconds later. "Hate to break it to you love, but this is what happens when you walk across town without a jacket on in the coldest week since March. Just cause it's nearly June doesn't excuse you from wearing something warm during a cold spell," he bit his lip to repress a smile and grabbed Harry's wrist to tug him along into the living room and set him on the couch with a blanket. 

"Thank you," Harry smiled, blinking slowly and Louis rolled his eyes as he shoved his shoulder and pushed him down onto the couch. He laid there quietly while the other boy wandered off into the kitchen to get a few beers and some snacks, and watched the game to try and catch up on how it had gone so far. It was in the middle of the first half by now, but no one had scored yet so he decided that he hadn't missed much. 

"So Harry... you know I keep trying to think of nicknames for you but there is just nothing that I can do with your name. You've already shouted at me for calling you Harold, so I guess that is out. What else can there be?" Louis droned on as he took a swig of his newly opened beer and looked down at the couch to find that the other boy had stretched out completely leaving no space. 

"Yeah, most people do just call me Harry," he commented as Louis jabbed at him with his foot to move. He stayed in the same position though and tried to hold back a ridiculously goofy grin. "But you Louis, you can call me anytime," Harry looked up at him and winked over dramatically for effect, getting a drawn out groan in return. 

"Pick up lines? Are you honest to god serious right now? That is ridiculous. You've got no chance in getting me to sleep with you now, fuck," Louis gave up and plopped down on top of Harry's feet, wiggling around until he was squished between the sofa and the other boy's legs. 

"Oh no, but that was my whole reason in coming here. Wait, wait, wait, I've got more alright? These'll definitely convince you. Hmm, how about, I wanna live in your socks so I can be with you every step of the way," Harry giggled and Louis teasingly slapped his cheek. 

"Awful. I am truly disappointed in you. Especially that one, Christ," Louis pretended to gag which sent Harry into a frenzy as he squirmed around beneath him. Already he felt comfortable with the other boy, and he was feeling drunk before he had even opened the bottle of the beer set on the table in front of him. 

"I thought that one was cute. What, you wouldn't want me as your socks? I think I'd make an awfully nice pair," he pouted once he had regained composure and Louis stuck his tongue out at him. Harry felt his heart lurch at the thought of kissing him to end his teasing. 

"For your information, I usually don't even wear socks. So you'd just be tucked away in my drawer of useless things for your entire life. Also, who only wears one pair of socks their entire life? No one that I'd like to hang out with, that's for sure," Louis hummed and Harry stared over at him, soaking up every word he said like it was the most important thing he had ever heard. In reality, it was a conversation about socks. 

"Why don't you wear socks?" Harry asked lazily and focused on evening out his breathing so he wouldn't come off as insane. The way Louis' lips looked when he spoke might have been driving him to that point though. 

"Dunno. Just think that they feel weird and all that. Even when I was a kid, I was never too into them. Pissed my mum off to no end," Louis laughed at the recollection and Harry wanted him to go on. More than anything, he wished to hear all about it. 

He wanted to know every little story and memory that the other boy had to offer. To be let in on his inside jokes, to know what reminded him of the summer before he turned twelve and how badly he burnt the first cake he ever made and whether or not he was ever held after class for a detention. Harry wanted to hear the catching in his voice when he spoke about his first love, and see the look in his eyes when he discussed what it was like to be home and around his family. 

The pounding of his heart in his chest was obvious, and he swallowed thickly while turning towards the television to watch the players run up and down the field. And he felt just like them at the moment. One second he was fine and able to laugh and joke around, and the next he was so overcome with the affection that he was developing that he could hardly stand it. 

Harry desired to sit up and pull Louis close and kiss him until everything bubbling up inside of him melted away and the infatuation that threatened to take over his entire body dissipated. It was a stupid crush, and he knew that it couldn't mean anything. Anyone who had ever been nice to him had been a target of his adoration for some time, and this was no different. 

But Harry liked being with Louis, and he enjoyed being around him for more than just attention. Whatever friendship they were developing was still weak and unlike the other people who he had liked for such a brief amount of time he didn't want to mess everything up by doing something stupid. With others, he didn't really care if he screwed up and moved too quickly and lost them in his life. 

Louis however, he wanted to be somewhat permanent. Already he felt so comfortable and at ease with him. That wasn't an easy thing for Harry in the slightest. The anxiety that he felt to please other people and have them return his affection was more often than not emotionally draining. But now, he wasn't afraid to be himself and say what was on his mind. Louis made him feel safe and happy, instead of just someone in the background. 

"Harry?" Louis' voice snapped him out of his trance and his body jerked in surprise. He looked up blearily towards the other boy and smiled weakly. 

"I think that I zoned out for a second," Harry yawned and stretched his arms out over his head, careful not to knock over the lamp stationed at the table behind him. Louis snorted and patted his legs sympathetically. 

"Am I honestly that boring?" he asked with a grin and Harry paused momentarily, then nodded with wide and innocent eyes and a smile playing at his lips. Louis' face scrunched up in frustration, and Harry had never seen anything that made him feel so warm inside. The thought was knocked away by a pillow colliding with his face and he hung upside down off of the sofa in shock. "Who's boring now sucker?" Louis screeched as he sprung up onto his feet, and let out a mock battle cry with the cushion held up high over his head. 

Harry moved his legs to catch the boy by the ankles and tripped him so he teetered on one leg and then lost his balance. Louis came crashing down, still screaming bloody murder, and ended up landing on Harry so his head was caught in the crook of his shoulder. He struggled to untangle himself and get the leverage to push himself upright, and Harry was laughing too hard to completely comprehend the position that they were in until a pair of lips grazed past his neck and his breathing hitched. 

"Tell me I'm not boring or I'll fucking bite you," Louis threatened, his voice muffled by the fabric of Harry's sweater and he squirmed around to escape the dead weight on top of him. "Don't try to escape! I'll do it, just you watch. Tell me I'm the most interesting person you've ever met or I'll show you the tricks I learned in Dracula," Louis squealed and they were both shaking from the laughter that filled the room. 

"Fine, fine, you're not boring! You're terribly interesting. So much, in fact, that I would listen to you talk about your inability to wear socks for days on end," Harry gasped and Louis managed to sit up slightly so their eyes met. 

"That sounds a bit sarcastic, Styles," he noted with narrowed eyes, and Harry shook his head wildly. 

"S'Not. I swear. I could listen to your voice for like, ever," he admitted, his voice growing softer at the last word and Louis loomed over him for a few seconds more. Finally, he nodded in satisfaction and pushed himself off of the larger boy's body so he was laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. 

"I'm quite glad that I met you," Louis mumbled between attempts to catch his breath. Harry turned to stare at him, not caring if he was caught though it wasn't a high possibility since the other boy's eyes were closed. "You're fun to hang around with. I like you," and though he meant it without any hidden romantic intention, Harry's heart skipped a beat. 

"Yeah Lou," he agreed, gulping and covering his eyes with his arm. "I like you too," 

\--- 

Harry woke up disoriented and confused, with his head resting in someone's lap and a can of mango nectar tucked safely in his arms. When he sat up, he looked around and slowly realized that he was in his own flat. And then like a train, it hit him that Louis was the one snuggled into the crook of the couch beside him. 

It had been a few weeks of them taking turns going to each other's flats, or dragging the other out to eat to see who could find the most obscene restaurant in the city, and even a few local concerts had been attended since they had a similar music taste. Summer was in full swing by now, and thankfully by mid June tons of shows were being played at a decent cost. 

They had been out to dinner at some pub which served abnormally large pints of beer that Louis couldn't seem to stop ordering. By the end of the night he was trying to convince Harry to dance with him on the bar, but luckily he had pulled the two of them out of there before that could happen. 

Harry was too tired to bring Louis all the way home and then go back to his own flat, so he cut the trip down sizably by just taking the both of them back to his. Zayn was no where to be found, and he assumed he was out with Niall or revising with Liam from the note on the fridge that said he wouldn't be home until late. 

Louis immediately curled up on the couch, and like a petulant child whined until Harry returned from the kitchen with two glasses of water and sat with him. Immediately he was tugged in close, and clumsy arms were wrapped tightly around his shoulders. When drunk, Louis was apparently even more affectionate and made tiny noises of discontentment every time Harry moved more than an inch or two away. 

It was painfully endearing, and he ended up moving on purpose just to be pulled back in and given sloppy kisses on his cheek. It was selfish and he felt guilty about it the second that Louis had fallen asleep, but the tingling on his skin left from where Louis' lips had grazed made it all worth it. 

When Harry sat up to look around, he awoke the other boy who in turn reached out to grab at his sweater. There wasn't much that he could do to get away, and he spoke quietly about needing to get up and made sure the door was locked and that he hadn't accidentally forgotten to turn off the stove when he made tea. Eventually he was let go, and he made a round about the house to double check that everything was safe. 

Louis was much more awake when Harry got back, and he smiled up at him with his hands curled around a cold mug of tea. The other boy snorted and took it from him with a shake of the head, then ventured off into the kitchen to make another couple of cups to help wake them up. 

"It's early," Louis spoke in a low gravelly voice ridden with sleep and Harry nearly dropped both mugs in his hands from the way his whole body reacted to the sound. "Why are we up? I want to be... not up," he mumbled slowly and made grabby hands for the tea. It was only when he set the cup down on the table immediately that Harry realized the grabby hands were for him instead. 

""Better to be three hours to early than one minute too late,"" Harry murmured and Louis kicked him in the side with his bare feet. 

"Again with the quotes. How can you even come up with that shit, you're drunk," Louis complained and Harry laughed a little too loud, so he covered his head with a throw pillow that he had threatened to vomit on the night before. 

"You're sadly mistaken. I could barely finish my first. I think that you drank nearly half of it. And don't play it off like you're completely unaware of what I'm accusing you of, I saw you sneaking sips of mine when yours was on the way. You are not as inconspicuous as you think," Harry spoke quietly and coaxed Louis out from under the pillow bit by bit. 

Finally he was out again, and twisted until it was now his head resting in Harry's lap. It took some convincing, but he was finally talked into drinking the glass of water set out for him and taking a few aspirin to numb his pounding headache. Once settled back in, Harry ran his fingers through his hair and pressed his cool palms to the side of Louis' flushed face. 

"I don't wanna go," Louis whispered suddenly, hiccuping half way through and tugging his knees to his chest. 

"Shh, Lou you don't have to go anywhere alright? It's barely four in the morning and you're still kinda wasted, I'm not going to kick you out or anything. You've spent the night before, it's not a problem. Just get some rest," Harry hummed and attempted to braid a piece of Louis' hair that was just barely long enough for it. 

"No Harry, you don't understand," Louis sighed unhappily and rubbed his eyes wearily. Harry frowned and shifted to get a better look at the boy. "I don't mean leave right now. I mean later, like at the end of the summer. I have to go back," 

"You're confusing me, hey, listen everything is going to be okay I promise. You've just gotta tell me what's happening so I can understand what you're talking about and do my best to help you," Harry requested softly and Louis nodded as he pushed himself into the other boy's lap practically. 

"When I was nineteen I enlisted in the military. My step dad had been in the army when he was young and I just... I wanted to make him proud and all. Thought it would be a good way to sort myself out, get some discipline before I set out into the real world to find a job and all that. M'not too good with like, authority," Louis sniffled and buried his face in Harry's chest. 

"You've never mentioned it before. It seems like a pretty big part of your life since you've been enlisted for nearly half a decade," Harry wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist and soothingly moved one hand up his spine to continue fussing with his knotted hair. 

"I guess I just thought that if I didn't mention it, then it wouldn't happen. Like if I didn't admit that it was happening, then it wouldn't be real and I could just stay in this summer forever," Louis mumbled and tangled his fingers in the hair along the nape of Harry's neck. 

""Knowing is the easy part; saying it aloud it the hardest part,"" Harry countered and earned a noise from Louis that was somewhere between laughter and sobbing. It terrified him and he tightened his grip protectively without a second thought. 

"This is exactly why I don't want to go," Louis' voice was barely audible and he clung to the fabric of Harry's jumper as he struggled to keep himself calm. The only noise that filled the room was his shaky breathing and the rain tapping against the window. It only added to the low mood of the room and he wished to will it away and bring the sunshine that was never nearly as bright as the smile of the boy trembling in his arms. 

Harry held onto him tightly and focused on rubbing circles onto his back and promising him that everything was going to work out soon enough until Louis was lulled back to sleep. The sun began to rise and daylight slowly inched into the room, but it didn't wash away the realization that soon enough Louis was going to be gone and Harry was going to be left alone with a giant hole in his heart. 

\--- 

Since Louis had confessed to only having a certain amount of time left in the city before he was being shipped off to some other part of the world, he and Harry had been spending as much time with each other as possible. Neither one had actually acknowledged the conversation since Louis had woken up the next morning, but things seemed slightly more desperate now. 

Every day was spent exploring every obscure part of the place where they lived until they knew the streets like the back of their hands. Harry dragged Louis to art shows and museums, trying to explain the different pieces that could never quite compare in making him feel as awestruck and mesmerized as Louis did. 

Louis, in turn, brought him to play football with some of his other best friends. They played endless drinking games, in which he won all of them because he cheated, and then danced and sang karaoke until someone ended up crying, puking, passing out, or all three. 

The best days, though neither would admit it, were the ones spent holed up in Louis' flat watching movies while sitting dangerously close to each other. Sometimes Harry would hang off of the couch as he read, and peer over the book to watch Louis sit grumpily as he shouted at the players on the television for not scoring when there was a clear shot. 

Louis would often grow too frustrated to continue, and crawl over to Harry to lay down in his lap and poke him until he read aloud. It was usually the middle of a book where he would begin, and dozens of questions were asked about the characters and the plot since he hadn't read the first half. Louis always refused a summary however, and said that he would hate to make Harry stop reading just to explain to him everything that had happened so far. 

"“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”" Harry read from Romeo and Juliet, and looked down to meet Louis' eyes as he recited the line. For a second after he fell silent and let the words sink in, but as quickly as he had ceased to read he picked back up again and went on with his voice shaking slightly from there on out. 

\---  
When Louis went home to visit his mother and sisters, Harry found himself incredibly bored for the first bit of it. However, it wasn't long until his phone began buzzing with countless texts sent from the train as well as pictures of just about everything when he had finally gotten to the house. 

Harry felt special to be filled in with every detail that was happening and it was never more than a few minutes between messages that had him laughing so hard he had fallen off of his bed. The mood that he had when he was around Louis was prominent even when he was miles away, and a smile was on his face more often than not. 

By the time Zayn got home from his last class of the day, Harry was jumping around the kitchen cooking. The music had been turned up so loudly that he didn't even notice the other boy enter the flat. Though he wasn't the best dancer, he was bounding across the kitchen kicking his feet out and thrusting his arms into the air. 

Zayn watched as Harry belted out the words to the song and used the sauce spoon as a microphone. Immediately he held up his phone to record it to send to Louis afterwards, and ended up getting a great shot of the other boy swiveling his hips to the beat and bouncing on the balls of his feet. The song ended and Zayn broke out into applause, causing Harry to spin around on his heel with wide eyes. 

"You're a fucking goner," Zayn was keeled over from laughing so hard and Harry crossed his arms with a scowl crossing his face. It wasn't the first time his best friend had made a comment about his affection for Louis, but he was never one to play into it. 

"I just really like that song, okay?" he argued back and turned down the music slightly as he turned back to the pots bubbling on the stove. 

"Really. Happy? By Pharrell Williams?" Zayn asked in amazement and Harry huffed while nodding and stabbing at the chicken he was preparing. 

"Yes. Is there a problem with that? I know for a fact that you play it as loudly as possible in your car so," Harry shot back and Zayn raised his hands innocently. 

"I'm just saying," he leaned across the counter and popped a grape tomato into his mouth despite the other boy's protests. "That this song is not your usual thing. I mean, I can't remember the last time I heard you listening to something that wasn't ridiculously obscure and underground. Or folky as fuck," 

Harry ignored him and continued to cut the vegetables on his wooden board. The music had changed back to his usual taste and he hummed along to yet another song that made his heart flutter because of how easily he could relate it to Louis. Caught up in his thoughts, he didn't realize that he was smiling until he heard Zayn snicker. 

"What, did Louis show you that song or something?" he asked, and Harry sighed at the fact that Zayn was still on that topic. It was just his luck that his phone happened to go off at that time however, and though he grinned to himself at first, the realization of Louis' text tone sent him dashing across the kitchen to unlock it before the song started. 

Just seconds too late, Happy filled the kitchen once again and his face turned bright red. Zayn's howling laughter quickly drowned out the music and he grabbed another few bits of food before sauntering off to take a shower. Harry could hear him singing the song dramatically from the bathroom and he groaned under his breath. 

The next few days were filled with the song being hummed every time they were close to each other, and even Niall had picked up on it so when Louis returned and Harry visited him at work it was played as loudly as possible throughout the diner. Adorable, yet completely clueless, Louis tugged him over to an empty dining section and forced Harry to dance to him the entire length of the song. As well as the second and third time that Niall put it on that day. 

\--- 

"I have a problem," Harry groaned as he walked into the flat and collapsed onto the couch. His head was buried in the pillow and he continued to grumble and whine until Zayn stood up and moved from his chair by the window to sit on his legs instead. 

"And just what is your problem my dear, sweet, naive, Harry," he cooed, and with the hand that wasn't pinned against the couch Harry flipped him off. "That bad? Alright, fine, sorry for being insensitive. C'mon mate, what's wrong?" Zayn asked, gentler this time. 

Harry sighed as he struggled to turn himself over. The pillow was suffocating him and his chest felt tight enough already at the realization that he had come to just an hour before. Covering his eyes he let out a long and loud whine, and Zayn just nodded along in agreement throughout the entire thing. 

"I think.... that I am in love with him," Harry sighed and punched the pillow next to him dozens of times until his hand started to hurt. It didn't make him feel much better, so he covered his face and screamed into it instead until his throat was raw and aching. 

"I know," Zayn smiled sympathetically and took away the pillow carefully before he threw it across the room and knocked down a shelf or something like he had done the last time he had a tantrum. "So what happened to make you finally come to your senses about the whole thing, bud?" he frowned and ran his fingers soothingly through Harry's curls until he wasn't shaking as badly and had become as calm as possible. 

"He didn't even fucking do anything," Harry cried out, his throat tight and his voice strained from holding back emotions. "I was just sitting there reading in one of the booths and he was fucking around with Niall for a while so I didn't see too much of him. And then I looked up and he was right there sitting across from me smiling at me like a fucking idiot. And so I asked what he was doing, and he glanced down and he had brought me fucking cinnamon toast that he had attempted to make himself because he knows it's my favorite. It was fucking terrible, the worst toast I had ever eaten in my life, but it's like the only thing I want to eat for the rest of my life is the shitty fucking toast he made with me in mind," 

Zayn pulled him close and rubbed his back as he let out a few shaky breaths. Since he was much younger, he hadn't had the best track record with love. He was one to fall too quickly and way too hard. A large part of that stemmed from his excessive readings of romantic novels, and he just wanted to be loved as deeply and completely as the characters in which he quoted. 

Harry was so used to people leaving him and moving onto bigger and better while he sat idly by in the sidelines just waiting for his moment to shine. With Louis, he thought things were going to be different. He looked at him like he wasn't someone who belonged in the background of the story. In this relationship, he was one of the main characters or the first time. 

But now he was leaving in just over a month, and though it wasn't the same circumstances as with everyone else Harry still feared the abandonment. He knew that there were going to be other people that Louis would befriend while away. People who would keep him company and keep him laughing and happy while Harry was back in the city pining over someone worlds away. Louis would move on while he would sit hung up on him, and he knew that if they were so far apart there was nothing that he could do to stop that. 

It was the fear of being loved and then thrown away as if he meant nothing that kept him up at night. Others were able to move on quickly, to forgive and forget, but Harry was incapable of that. There was nothing more in the world that he wanted than to be adored, to be wanted, to mean as much to someone as they meant to him. 

There was a glimmer of hope when he first met Louis that he could have been the one to give him that. Even if it was just in friendship. But now he was in love with him, and there was nothing that would ever make Louis feel the same way. It was just another relationship where Harry was the one who cared so much more than the other, and he didn't know how he was going to be able to handle that. 

The books that he devoted himself to romanticized the pain and heartbreak left over from unrequited love. Growing up, he assumed without question that this was how it was supposed to be. But as soon as he was stuck in the reality of it he wanted to scream and tear out every page of every novel he had ever read and set them ablaze. 

"Tell him," Zayn encouraged him, and Harry ignored the idea of it. "Okay. Then let's get drunk," he offered, and this idea sounded so much better to him that he was the one to jump up and grab the bottle of Jack stored under the sink. 

Hours later Harry had lost track of how many shots he had taken. Zayn had attempted to be the sober one in charge of him, but ended up falling asleep after his third shot with his arms hanging off of the sofa and his snores so loud not even the playlist that Harry made with Louis in mind could drown them out. 

As the night went on he felt more and more compelled to call the other boy, and so finally just a few minutes after three he gained the drunken courage to scroll through his contacts and find Louis' number. As soon as he heard the ringing he felt more calm, and when Louis' sleepy voice came through the speaker his heart fluttered. 

"Harry? It's like... three in the morning. What are you doing up? Y'Alright?" Louis asked with a yawn and Harry giggled quietly, thinking that he was being covert and not completely obviously drunk. 

"I just... you know," he drawled and made a big deal of whispering into the receiver so he wouldn't wake Zayn up. 

"I do not know. Enlighten me," Louis was far more awake now, and seemed genuinely interested in a completely plastered Harry. Usually he was the one out of the two to get hammered so he was intrigued as to how the other boy would act. So far he was being far less sophisticated and mature than usual and it made him feel even more devoted to the curly haired boy. 

"I wanted to like, hear your voice and stuff. I like your voice. Especially when you say my name. And lemon, you say lemon sooo weirdly. And I just wanted to talk to you, because you're uh, like my favorite person. To talk to. So, yeah," Harry yawned and the other end was quiet for a few seconds longer than usual. "Lou?" he asked worriedly. 

"M'here," his voice was softer now, and Harry could practically hear him smiling. "You're being safe right? You're not all alone in some alley somewhere?" 

Harry felt elated that he cared enough to check in on him, and he almost blurted out that he loved him there and then. But then he remembered that it was a secret and clapped a hand over his mouth before it spilled out. When he realized how strange of a thing that was to do, he burst into a fit of giggles. 

"I'm home! Zayn is here, he is the sober one. I'm the designated drinker. Get it, Louis? Aren't I so funny, I came up with that all on my own a few seconds ago," Harry squealed and bounced up and down excitedly. Zayn groaned from the couch and sat up dazedly, his eyes widening when he saw the phone in his best friend's hands. 

"I do get it sweetheart. It's absolutely hilarious. You know, you ought to call me drunk more often. I like the sound of your voice too," Louis admitted and Harry's heart jumped into his throat. 

Meanwhile Zayn was getting himself up off of the couch and storming over towards Harry who was giggling into the receiver and twirling one of his curls on his finger. Taking the phone from the drunk boy's hand he ignored the pleads and protests and apologized quickly to Louis then hung up the phone. 

"D'you think he loves me?" Harry asked, sitting with his legs crossed and swaying slightly as he stared up at Zayn. 

"Yes you asshole, now go the fuck to bed," Zayn commanded, and screamed out in anguish when Harry leaned over and vomited onto the carpet beneath him. 

\--- 

When Harry woke up the next morning he greedily drank the glass of water left on his beside table and took an extra aspirin. Zayn had gone to work a few hours before, but readily left a pail at the side of the bed with an angry note written regarding the vomit that he cleaned out of the rug the night before. 

At the bottom in much smaller handwriting with less exclamation marks were the words 'Tell him' and Harry nearly keened over into the can to gag at the thought. Slowly he recalled ringing Louis the night before, and he tried to remember exactly what he had said and hoped that he didn't make an ass out of himself. 

There was rapid knocking at the front door, and he whined into the pillow at the thought of getting out of bed. Half of him almost ignored it, positive that it was Zayn who had forgotten his keys yet again. But finally when the banging persisted he hoisted himself out of bed and wandered into the living room. 

Though he had brushed his teeth before curling up and falling asleep in the bathtub the night before, his mouth was dry and he grabbed a half empty can of juice on his way to the door, tossing it behind his back and into the garbage before he undid the locks and lazily tugged the door open. 

"Louis?" his eyes widened in surprise and he noticed how jittery and anxious the other boy looked. "Y'Alright?" he inquired as his hand ran through his hair to try and get it under control. A few unruly strands had fallen into his eyes and he repeatedly attempted to push them away. 

Louis stepped forward and Harry staggered backwards to let him in. The door closed quietly and they stood in silence for a few seconds, both staring at each other wordlessly. Time crawled by, and then all at once Louis pushed himself forward on his toes and took Harry's face in his hands. 

Their lips were pressed together immediately and Harry tripped backwards in surprise before his hungover mind was able to wrap itself around the situation. Louis pulled back timidly, but rushed back in as Harry's hands clasped onto his hips and tugged him closer so their bodies were pressed together. 

They didn't separate for a long time, and when Louis finally pulled away Harry let out a small whine of protest. Their foreheads knocked together and the smiles plaguing the both of their faces began to cause their cheeks to ache. Harry ducked down to kiss the corner of the smaller boy's mouth quickly and kept the tight grip on his hips. 

"Oops," he laughed as he accidentally left a much sloppier kiss than planned and Louis' eyes shone as his laughter rang out through the apartment. 

"Hi," Louis practically giggled as he moved Harry's hand from his hips to intertwine their fingers instead. "Why am I not surprised that you taste like mango?" he asked with a smirk. 

"I had cotton mouth. Needed something to make it go away," Harry pouted and Louis rolled his eyes. 

"Brushing your teeth is always a good way to go, babe," he noted simply and stuck out his tongue to fake gag before he tipped forward cackling and put his weight onto Harry to hold him upright. 

"Your constant knocking sort of restricted me from that option," Harry argued back and before he could continue he was tottering backwards after Louis had jumped up into his arms and wrapped his legs around his waist to attack him with dozens of quick pecks. 

\--- 

Harry rolled over to prop himself up on his elbow and stared at Louis through the darkness of his bedroom. The television that they hadn't bothered to turn off was still audible through the walls from the living room and he could faintly make out a commercial for some sort of insurance. 

"Stop staring at me you twat, it's creepy," Louis mumbled with his eyes still closed and a pleased look on his face. Harry dropped back onto his pillow and scooted closer so their legs tangled together. 

""I like watching you sleep. You don't scowl; it improves your looks a lot,"" Harry replied and Louis grunted. "Hunger Games," he explained quietly and the other boy shoved at his chest, muscles weak with sleep. 

For a while longer they just laid there, Louis on the verge of sleep again and Harry watching him twist and turn to try to find a comfortable position. Not once did he let go of Harry's hand, no matter how great of a spot he could have found in doing so. The small things like that were what filled him up from head to toe with adoration and warmth. 

"I'm in love with you," Harry confessed, and Louis was unmoving besides his hand that squeezed onto the other boy's so tightly he was afraid that his fingers may break. 

Louis finally opened his eyes and even in the dim light the blue was clearly visible. With a small nod, he inched across the mattress until they were so close that their noses brushed against each other. Stale breath from beer and left over chicken were ignored and their lips grazed lightly. 

"And I am in love with you," Louis croaked, with his heart beat picking up and thudding so loudly that Harry could feel it against his bare skin. 

They were both aware that not much time would pass before they were going to be apart. It wasn't something that they had spoken about yet, especially now that they were together and happy. Though it was constantly in the back of their minds they did their best to focus on the present, too wrapped up in each other to be brought down by the impending future. 

"'The course of true love never did run smooth,"" Harry whispered in reference to the end of the summer, and Louis playfully tapped his cheek to get him to shut up before kissing him harder than ever before. 

"You're a pretentious twat and I'm in love with you," Louis sighed exasperatedly, then let his eyes flutter closed once more as they both drifted back to sleep. 

\--- 

When Louis went home to visit his family for the last time before he left, he asked Harry to go with him. It hadn't been expected, but he was so eager to show him off to everyone that he knew that he really shouldn't have been surprised. 

"You know, I think you're just dragging me along so I can carry all of the bags," Harry complained with a duffel bag hanging off of each shoulder. They were only meant to stay for five or six days, but it seemed that Louis had packed half of his closet. 

"You've figured me out, buttercup," he agreed and dragged him through the train station in hopes of finding his mother without having to call her and put up with her inability to use modern technology. 

Finally he noticed the half a dozen children crowded around a very worn looking woman and tugged harder on Harry's hand to get him to keep up. The squealing threw him off, though Louis seemed unphased as he hoisted up the smaller ones into his arms and ruffled the other's hair. 

Harry was slightly overwhelmed by it all and he introduced himself in a much higher and quieter voice than usual. Louis shoved at his side in an attempt to get him to loosen up, but when that didn't work he held tightly onto his hand instead. One of the girls he was positioned next to on the ride home fell asleep in his lap and he stroked her hair while Louis stared at him with bright eyes. 

Louis hadn't expected Harry to leave his side much during their stay, but it seemed that he had fallen in love with the entire family instead of just him. When he woke up alone, he panicked slightly and wondered if it had all freaked Harry out to the point where he ran away, but when he skidded into the kitchen with worried eyes and messy hair he was greeted by his boyfriend kissing his cheek on his way to set a tray of waffles on the table. 

His mum went on to no end about how much of a help he was, and how great of a cook as well. Louis sat pouting in his seat at the table while laughter was heard from the kitchen, and he didn't lighten up until Harry was at his side again, hand on his thigh whispering into his ear that he was still the favorite. 

When Louis was ready for bed a few nights later, Harry was no where to be found again. He huffed and puffed as he checked all of the usual spots and instead found his sisters tucked into bed and his mother half asleep on the couch in the middle of a movie that Harry had recommended the day before. 

He had just about given up when he heard hushed whispers coming from the twins' room. Louis quietly opened the door to see Harry holding his smallest sister and singing to her softly as they swayed back and forth in the rocking chair. His heart dropped and he stood speechlessly in the doorway. 

Harry looked up with a smile and pressed a finger to his lips. He then stood up carefully, cradling the toddler in his arms like she was the most delicate and fragile thing in the world. He placed her gently in the crib and brushed a few strands of hair from her face before he crept out of the room and closed the door behind him. 

Louis blinked up at him, and Harry bent down to kiss him with his lips still tasting of the pasta that he had made hours before. They stumbled into the spare bedroom and Louis stared at the ceiling with his chest tightening while Harry disappeared to go wash up before going to sleep. 

Harry settled into bed beside him and rested his head on Louis' chest. Everything felt right, better than he had ever hoped for when thinking about visiting the other boy's family. It had made him realize just how badly he wanted a big family at some point, maybe even sooner than he had thought about before. 

After graduating college he knew that there were more important things that he needed to be doing like finding a stable job to support himself with. He couldn't live off of mac and cheese out of the box for much longer, especially if he wanted to have something like this one day. 

"Hey Harry?" Louis whispered and he hummed in response, already half asleep from a long day of running around with the children and helping with the housework. "Promise me that you'll wait for me, when I leave and all?" Louis' voice was thick and nervous, and it caused Harry's breath to be knocked from his lungs. 

"I promise," Harry agreed, and pressed his lips to the crook of Louis' shoulder to send a shiver down the other boy's spine. 

\--- 

When the day finally came for Louis to leave, they were both a mess. The snooze button on the alarm clock was smacked seven times, and they waited until the last possible second until they got out of bed. Harry held back tears as he chopped away in the kitchen and made the two of them breakfast. 

When Louis came out showered and ready to eat, they both just stared at the plates and poked the food with their forks. Harry didn't have the energy to make a sarcastic joke about his bad cooking, and instead he pushed out his chair and curled up in Louis' lap instead. 

"Get off of me you git, I have to go get your present," Louis fussed, but only tightened his grip on the other boy's waist. 

"Present?" Harry murmured into his chest, and reluctantly climbed off to return to his own seat. The sweater hugging his body was a bit too tight as it belonged to Louis, but he had secretly stashed away as many articles of the other boy's clothing as possible and stored them under his bed for when he was gone. 

Louis returned with a small box, complete with a bow on top. Very gently he placed it on the table and warned Harry to be just as careful with it or it could be disastrous. The lid of the box popped off easily, and he bent over to look down. He was surprised to feel his nose bopped by something soft, and Harry jerked his head back in confusion. 

"You got me a kitten," he breathed out and the tiny thing mewled repeatedly until he scooped it up in his large hands and cradled it close to his chest. The light brown hair was already coming off along his cream sweater, and he scratched behind it's ears. "That box doesn't have holes you know, you could have killed my baby," 

"I realize that it doesn't have holes, Harry. I'm not completely stupid. She was hidden in Zayn's room in a little crate. Or, well I mean he played with her and cuddled her to keep her company until he left for work this morning. And then she went into the crate for an hour or so, poor baby," Louis cooed as he reached across to run his thumb along the kitten's stomach. 

"I'm bringing her with me to the airport, you know. I'll hide her in my coat so she doesn't get lonely here all by herself," Harry smiled at the animal so small it could fit in one of his hands and he looked up to kiss Louis slowly. His hands went down to cover the kitten's eyes and she squirmed under him until she was nipping at his fingers. 

The car ride to the airport was filled with ridiculous music being played and Harry poking at the kitten purring contently in his lap. Louis continued to glance from the driver's seat to the two of them, one hand on the wheel and the other gripping tightly to the curly haired boy's. 

When they arrived Harry tucked the small kitten into a pocket on the inside of his jacket and shushed it until it was half asleep against his chest. Louis rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock, frowning at how late they were for the flight. There wasn't going to be much time for him to say goodbye and his heart was already breaking at the idea of being away for a year. 

"I love you," Harry mumbled and held onto Louis tightly, though the side of his coat with the kitten in the pocket was aimed away so it would not be squished. 

"I love you too. So much. More than anything in the world," Louis gulped and Harry shook as he cried into the other boy's shoulder. "Hey, it'll be okay. I'll be home soon, I promise. And now you have this little devil to keep you company," 

"I'm going to miss you," Harry whimpered and Louis brushed away his own tears as quickly as they fell. 

"You'd better write to me every chance you get," Louis cupped Harry's face in his hands and wiped away the tears staining his cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. "Tell me all about every book you've read, the songs you danced around in the kitchen to while making dinner, the crazy things that Zayn has said, how boring work was, all the antics that the monster I got you is going to get into," 

Harry kissed him abruptly and nodded as he did so. If he didn't leave now they knew that he'd miss his flight but they held onto each other for as long as possible. They whispered goodbyes, and for once Harry was unable to quote a line that was able to fit the situation. 

Nothing that he had ever read, or would ever read, could compare to the utter heartbreak that he felt as he watched Louis walking away with his suitcase in tow. Every few seconds he turned around to wave, and Harry waved back until he watched the plane take off and fly away. 

\--- 

Harry rolled over onto his back and let out a surprised grunt when he felt the weight of a seven month old cat pounce onto his stomach. The kitten that Louis had given him, which he named Salinger after one of his favorite authors, had grown an impressive amount over the time that they were apart. 

It only reminded him day in and day out just how long it had been since he held Louis in his arms and kissed him until his lips were bruised and aching. The new apartment that he found himself in was also a reminder of things that had changed. It had been five months since Harry started his new job as a journalist for the city newspaper. 

The work was often disheartening and tedious, but he had slowly worked his way up the ladder until he in a respectable position and getting paid a decent amount. Zayn had taken their old apartment over and Niall moved in with him there, and Harry was renting out a place a few buildings down. 

"Would you quit abusing me, bugger," Harry sighed and reached down to pet the cat stationed on top of him until it settled in and curled into a ball for a nap. 

It had been hard to be apart for so long, and the distance wasn't something that either of the boys were just able to get used to. Every second of his life he missed Louis, even when they were able to video chat or speak on the phone. The letters that he had received were pinned up on the wall across from the bed, so if he was unable to sleep he just read the messy looped handwriting of the boy he loved so dearly. 

"Do you think I'd be crazy to ask him to marry me when he got home," Harry asked the cat, poking her back to wake her up and she swatted lazily at his face. "You're absolutely right. I think I must be going insane. But I think I'll ask him when he's been home for a few months, just in case he's been thinking about it too," he sighed and closed his eyes to fall asleep on the hardwood floor so that time may move faster until Louis was by his side. 

\--- 

Harry darted through the airport, standing on the tips of his toes to stare above the hundreds of people milling about. Though he was always one to be more timid and slow when moving through a crowded space he couldn't stand to move at his usual pace right now. 

Every head of brown hair that he saw caused his heart rate to spike, but it was always the wrong person. It seemed as though he'd been looking around for ages with his little sign that had Louis' name and a drawing of Salinger in the corner before he finally found who he was looking for. 

Their eyes met and Harry felt his legs stop moving momentarily as the room started to spin. Luckily for him, he didn't have to move and Louis pushed his way through the crowd until he was catapulting himself forward and attaching their lips despite the other passengers around them. 

"I love you, I love you, I love you," Harry repeated and his voice broke from the way his body shook with sobs. Louis held onto him and shook his head, unable to even try to speak. They didn't move for a long time, too entangled in each other to use their shaking legs and get to the car to drive home. 

By the time they reached the apartment Louis was stationed on Harry's back with his face nuzzled into the crook of his shoulder pressing kisses every where that he could reach until his chapped lips were raw. The cat circled their feet when they walked in, and Louis dropped down to the floor to pick her up and spin her around. 

Ignoring the little nips left along his hands, he continued to bounce the cat around as he ordered Harry to show him around their new apartment. All of Louis' stuff had already been moved in and he commended the other boy for his ability to keep a clean home even with all of the stuff cluttering every inch of space. 

They sat together to eat dinner, which was a collection of Louis' favorites that Harry had been practicing and perfecting over the past year. Not more than two inches separated them the entire night, and their food became cold after they had gotten too wrapped up in each other to remember to eat. 

Late that night they laid pressed together even though they were both over heated and sweating, and Harry stared at Louis the same way he had a year before when he admitted that he was in love with him. Nothing had changed between them, if anything they had grown stronger after fighting so hard to stay together. 

"I love you Harry," Louis promised as he drifted off to sleep. 

"I love you," Harry nodded, and there was no book that he could read that would ever make him jealous of the life that a character lead. Not while he had the love of his life nestled safely in his arms.


End file.
